Someone to Breathe For
by winter.harou
Summary: Kai loves Tala,but has insisted to himself that the he doesn't deserve the red haired angel..Until one day, he learns of Tyson's feelings for his friend. Suddenly,he finds himself competing with Tyson for the ultimate prize: Tala's love.
1. Prologue, Ice cream Kisses

Well, here it is...My first fanfic...

Hope you enjoy n.n

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. No, seriously. _Nothing_.

The song is by Augustana, "Coffee and Cigarettes"

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**:Prologue: **Ice cream Kisses

**Kai's Pov**

After all these years…I can still remember the first time I saw him.

Two of the orphanage workers had dragged him in out of the rain, and I was sure, that if there were such thing as an angel, he was bound to be one.

He stood stock still, his light frame shaking and quivering….His tiny, pale hands clenching and unclenching. Bright, crimson hair was plastered around his heart shaped face, the cold having brought on a soft blue tint to his lips….And, of course his eyes.

I felt as if I had never seen the color blue before, such was the intensity of his stare. They swirled at me, those wondrously clear orbs, with a throbbing need to understand...

To understand what? Life….Death?

I'm not sure…But he was searching for something, something he needed badly….

I'm not even sure if he knew what he was looking for.

/Wake up,

Take your pills dear,

I know this time of year ain't  
right for you.../

He loved the snow.

It was odd, because his near fragile body could barely handle the low temperatures. And yet, he would stay out there for hours…Until his lungs ached with the frosty air and he could no longer close his fingers around the thick, white drifts of snow that lay around him.

Finally, he would come inside, wincing as the heat touched upon his icy skin, thawing out his slender limbs.

Once I asked him why…Why he stayed out so long if it caused him such discomfort…I _hated_ to see him in pain.

He looked at me kind of funny, as if it was a ridiculous question to ask, blue eyes feathery warm as he began to feel sleepy.

"Because…" he started slowly "Because when it's cold, you can pretend you've found the only warm spot left in the world."

/You came with a sickness,

Shot down back in Christmas,  
Kamikaze rain.../

During the summer, the orphanage (if they had enough funds) would take us out on a trip to the city.

He loved those trips… His favorite part was where we all got ice-cream at the end. He always loved vanilla best, "Because it looks like snow." he would say.

As he neared the end of his cone, the chilled, sugary treat would be frosted around his lips…And he always made a point of giving us kisses.

Ice-cream kisses.

I can't help but smile now as I remember….

They weren't big, sloppy kisses…No…They were quick and sweet and warm and cold...All at once.

And he would give just one, leaving a small ring of sticky sugar for you to finger, slightly annoyed, on the way back.

A mere peck on the cheek, I know, but it meant so much more all the same.

Every moment I spent with him seemed to go by so fast…It was never enough.

/And I'm sure you've lost that weight again,  
I'm sure the pills keep pouring in,  
Like smoke that falls,

It's caving into you...  
So put me on a plane,

And fly me to anywhere

...with you.../

And then, every thing came to an abrupt halt.

There were no more winters where he would crawl into to bed with me, no more ice cream kisses in the summer…

Then came the abbey.

The small orphanage which had taken us in had finally sputtered to a halt…They could no longer keep the organization going…And Boris Balcov was only to eager to assist.

They destroyed him.

I watched, day by day, as he lost a little more of himself, lost a little more weight that he had worked so hard to gain… watched as he became a little bit weaker than the day before….

Until…eventually, there was nothing left.

He was….Empty.

/One night...

When you woke up, you bled...

Till you spoke up,  
Oh this ain't pretty dear,  
With clocks, watch the time go

...Till spring,

When the sun can,  
Finally be free.../

I fought for him then, recovered every inch of ground that he had lost. Stitched him back to together …

I've held his hand during every visit to the hospital, held him as they diagnosed problem after problem…

"_He's suffered so much internal damage, it's hard to say…"_

"_Surgery is the only thing that can help him now…" _

"_He's just too skinny…. We can't help him until he gains more weight…"_

"_We'll have to keep him over night for observation…" _

"_If he doesn't wake up soon, he suffers risk of brain damage…"_

"_He might never walk again."_

There was always another reason, another reason not to hope for another year…._another month._

But here he is…

He made it…

_We made it._

I have never met a stronger person than my friend, Tala Ivanov.

And now, years later, I've begun to recognize him again.

Although he's still skinny, he's gained enough weight for the doctors to deem him healthy, his eyes, his beautiful eyes have regained their sparkle….And every day, the abbey seems even more like a distant nightmare.

And I know…Deep down, he is still the angel I met on that cold, rainy night, shivering with want and need for…_Something. _

I don't know…Maybe…

_Someone. _

Maybe, I could be his someone…I could be his warm place in the winter, when everything else is dying of cold…

I could be…I could be his _everything._

But he's so beautiful, and me…I'm so lost right now. And everything is a lot to be…

/And I'm sure you've lost that weight again,  
I'm sure the pills keep pouring in,  
We'll scream at the night,

To make it go away...  
So put me on a plane,

And fly me to anywhere

...with you.../

"_Tala…" _

/Just as long,

As I'm with you…/

**TBC**

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_-puppy dog face-_ Review...pwease?

n.n


	2. Always On My Mind

Well, here it is...I guess it'd really be chapter two...But the first chapter was a prolugue so...-_shrug-_ Well, the point is, its here, and wants you to read it.

-n.n-

**Disclaimer- Nope. Don't own a thing.**

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**:Chapter 1: **Always on My mind

**Kai's Pov:**

I watch him carefully out of the corner of my eye, thick lashes feathering low over his stunning eyes in thought, his peach lips curved gently into an almost-smile.

He's watching the snow.

He's watching as the singular forms of snowflakes are swallowed up by the thick, bedded carpet of white fluff already on the ground…His reflection in the car window shines back at me like a ghost.

I turn away, focusing on the road…Or, at least trying to.

It's hard to think of anything now a days, well, anything…_Anyone_, other than Tala.

He's been staying with me, for the past couple of months, at my house (psht, its more of a castle …). It's been nice really, having company…Especially having Tala.

He's just…Ack, I don't know.

I've been thinking about him so much of late...The way his smile spreads in that slow, sincere way of his, until it reaches its peak and just…Sparkles.

He's the most beautiful person I know, inside and out. God, I can't even begin to explain...

My eyes widen as a squirrel plants himself firmly in front of the car, forcing me to slow down abruptly…Tala would never forgive if I had run it over.

I glance at Tala as he watches the fuzzy thing scamper out of the glare of the headlights, its brush of a tail disappearing into the dark winter night.

I sigh, allowing myself to relax as the car slowly rolled forth, steadily building speed.

"Thanks Kai…"

I turn to my childhood friend, his blue eyes causing my heart to skip a beat.

"For what?"

He chuckled lightly…The most beautiful sound I've _ever _heard…Only comparable to the sound of his laughter.

"For not running the poor thing over."

"It's only a matter of time before he gets hit by _something._" I say, shrugging carelessly.

I watch Tala wince slightly at the thought, allowing my self a bemused nod…It must be quite a burden to feel compassion for all things big and small…

"Yea, well…still-"

A dull thunk cut him off...Hale.

Seconds later, small chunks of ice crash down upon us like rain, along with fresh flurry of snow…

Great.

"Stupid squirrel delayed me." I muttered, almost regretting having spared its life.

Yea, I know. Pretty bad.

"Don't you mean stupid Tyson?"

Tala corrected playfully…

"_Stupid Tyson." _I growl in turn.

It's true.

If it weren't for Tyson's stupid dinner invitation, we wouldn't be here…

Now it looked like we might end up staying the night at that idiot's dojo…Heaven knows he would insist.

We really_ shouldn't_ be here, in this car…We really ought to be back at home (if you could call it a home…But with Tala…_He makes it a home…_) drinking hot chocolate, and laughing at something…Laughing at ourselves, each other…It wouldn't matter. The point is, we wouldn't be _anywhere_, if that makes any sense at _all._

…We wouldn't be going to a place where we were expected to speak…Where I had to share him…

_My angel._

Shake my head…No. That's not right. Tala is not mine...And never will be…

But still I'd hate to think that…Well, that he might ever…

"Kai?"

I glance over at him, his brow is slightly furrowed, the corners of his lips cradling a smile,

"Wasn't that Tyson's house…Back there…?" he spoke softly, eyes sparkling with humor, a thumb jabbing in the opposite directing…An appropriate punctuation.

I sigh, unable to pry the smile from my lips. "Whoops."

He shakes his head, his moonlight blue eyes downcast as the smile grew, "Little distracted, huh?"

_You have no idea… _

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Thankyou to all who reviewed the first chapter...Fancy reviewing a bit more? 

Hehe ...n.n

-Rou


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